Bumps and Bruises
by Cairnsy
Summary: Reishin and Kouyuu, their relationship, and bumps and bruises. Chronicle order from chibi!Kouyuu to current day Kouyuu and Reishin.


**Title:** Bumps and Bruises.  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Reishin and Kouyuu, their relationship, and bumps and bruises. Chronicle order from chibi!Kouyuu to current day Kouyuu and Reishin.

_i_

The boy has bumps and bruises, Reishin finds when he gets him home. Angry, purple bruises dashed through with vibrant green, large and small bumps that range from small callouses to what looks like a nasty knot on the back of his head. He won't tell Reishin how he got them, and it is difficult enough to get the boy out of his tattered tunic as it is. There are more marks down his back, more still down his legs, and the boy simply glares and glares and glares as though Reishin is somehow accusing him of something as opposed to trying to help. Reishin isn't altogether good at helping - he doesn't have much experience in looking after anyone's interest except for his own - and so he is perhaps a little too rough and a little too unfeeling.

He soaks the boy for hours in his bath, not because he is quite that dirty but because the small child sinks in beneath the warm water and doesn't seem to ever want to emerge. Reishin remembers watching Shouka washing Shuurei once, how she splashed and sung and gurgled, how tender Shouka was when he sponged her down with a warm smile. The boy doesn't let Reishin do that, scrubbing himself so roughly that it causes Reishin to wince, and it is only when it comes to washing the boy's hair that Reishin is allowed close. He has strangely pretty hair, this weird little street urchin. It's not silky or smooth like Reishin's own, but the oddest shade of pale green that reminds him of the last moments of dusk.

The boy's resistance melts away as Reishin runs his fingers through that hair, making him seem suddenly small and fragile. He certainly offers no resistance when the water has finally run too cold and Reishin wraps him in a disgustingly fluffy towel, although eyes that were slowly starting to droop widen when Reishin then draws him up into his arms. It is easier this way to put the child into Reishin's bed - Reishin supposes he can sleep somewhere else tonight, and it seems like the sort of thing he is supposed to do now that the boy is his. He thinks that he's supposed to do more as well, foreign things like read to or tuck him in, but the boy is asleep the moment his head hits the pillow. Instead, Reishin just sits on the bed beside him for longer than he perhaps should, wondering what in the world he has got himself into.

_ii_

Reishin smiles behind his fan as Kouyuu skitters into his office, a pile of books and scrolls piled so high in his arms that all Reishin can see over the top is a tuff of sea-green hair. The boy has spent all week 'helping' Reishin prepare his latest report, scurrying between the archives and Reishin's office constantly. The pile totters dangerously, and for a moment Reishin thinks it is going to fall, but Kouyuu somehow manages to make it to his desk just in time, dropping them inelegantly on top of Reishin's paperwork. The boy's enthusiasm is unmatched, although Reishin notices wryly that it comes at a cost. Only this morning, Kouyuu had been a picture in soft blues and violets, his robes elegantly falling in soft folds. Reishin can still remember tying Kouyuu's hair back in a delicate bow, his face framed softly by stray, prettily curled strands.

Now... well. The bow is gone, and in its place is a practical leather band that pulls Kouyuu's hair back into a messy , impatient ponytail. The robes that had been so pretty this morning are now creased with dirt from the archives, and there is what suspiciously looks like ink staining the right sleeve. Reishin doubts that Kouyuu has noticed the difference at all, although Reishin also doubts that Kouyuu ever realised that he'd looked so like the son of the head of the Kou clan this morning in the first place. He's finding the scruffy version of Kouyuu more acceptable, strangely enough. There are enough pretty little dolls running around the Kou estate, all programmed in politics and little else. Kouyuu is a breath of fresh air.

When Kouyuu rushes in with the next lot of books, the pile totters dangerously once again, and Reishin pauses and waits. One step, two steps ...

Kouyuu makes the cutest 'omph' as he falls, the books flying from his hands as he hits the ground. Reishin believes there is a bruise forming on his hip now to match the one he earned the day before, and there are likely a couple still from his two falls three days ago. Slightly dazed eyes glance up at him through strands of messy hair, before Kouyuu blinks it quickly away and scrambles to his feet. An angry blush sweeps across the young boy's cheeks as he hurries to pick the books back up, and Reishin wonders if perhaps this time Kouyuu will learn his lesson.

The next pile of books Kouyuu carries into his office is even larger. Reishin's eyes widen slightly as it sways dramatically from side to side before Kouyuu heaves them onto his desk. This time, Kouyuu wears a smile of triumph, and when he looks at Reishin it's with a hint of expectation. Reishin obliges with a serious, dutiful nod of approval, and Kouyuu simply blossoms before him before rushing off even faster for his newest stack.

What a strange little boy.

_iii_

Kouyuu is sucking on his knuckles. Reishin doesn't think he's ever seen anyone do such a thing before, and so he finds himself watching Kouyuu over the top of his book, despite himself. He is fairly sure that Kouyuu doesn't know he's doing it, as the action is done with an absent-mindedness that very few of the things Kouyuu does are. It's just his son's right hand that is getting the strange treatment, Reishin realises as Kouyuu moves from the joints in his index finger up to his ring finger. Kouyuu's left hand is firmly attached to the book in front of him, serious eyes absorbing all the details there. With only three months to go until the palace exams, Reishin cannot remember the last time he saw Kouyuu _without_ a book or scroll.

This is, however, the first time he's seen Kouyuu do _this._

After a few minutes Kouyuu seems to realise what he is doing, but by the time he looks up, embarrassed, in Reishin's direction, Reishin has hidden himself behind his own book. A quick peek reveals that Kouyuu is staring with a sense of wry bemusement at his fingers before flexing them slowly. Reishin's eyes narrow when the action causes Kouyuu to flinch slightly, and it becomes clear very quickly that Kouyuu cannot close them around anything thinner than a glass, let alone a writing tool.

Hmph.

Kouyuu has been studying too hard again.

It is something that is perhaps more pleasing than it should be.

_iv_

Kouyuu slams the door behind him, and Reishin knows instantly that it is all the Ran boy's fault. Shuuei has been occupying too much of Kouyuu's time recently, he's certainly been monopolising his anger and impatience. Still, when Kouyuu storms into his office, momentarily forgetting his usual decorum and reverence, Reishin is not expecting the scene before him. There is dirt and grime in Kouyuu's hair, smudges of soil along his cheeks and forehead. Reishin's fist clench as he notices that there are also tears in Kouyuu's robes.

"What did that boy do to you?" Reishin demands, already plotting in his mind which assassin to send after Shuuei. Kouyuu appears more angry than hurt, but Reishin knows that his son's friend is known for his wandering hands.

"It was terrible!" Kouyuu proclaims as he collapses into one of Reishin's chairs, wincing in a way that makes Reishin instantly straighten up in his chair. "It was such a stupid idea and I should have never gone along with it, but he made it almost make sense!" There is a bruise slowly blossoming near Kouyuu's hairline, Reishin notices with alarm. "I should have known that when his eyes light up like that it means trouble." Kouyuu throws something on the ground before him with a huff, and Reishin is surprised to find it is a sword. There is, thankfully, no blood on it (Kouyuu has quite a temper sometimes, and god knows Reishin doesn't approve of appropriate violence), but that serves to confuse Reishin more.

"Kouyuu, tell me what happened this instant." His son appears a little confused by the command, so caught up in his ranting that he seems to have forgot he has an audience. "I didn't even know you had a sword," Reishin adds with just a touch of threat in his voice. There is a reason for that. Reishin has found that swords have a habit of attracting other swords, and therefore believes that they are best dispelled with altogether.

"It's not mine," Kouyuu says, glancing down at the thing with a touch of anger of his own. "Shuuei found out that I'd never received any sword training when I was younger, and he thought that was ridiculous considering that I am part of-" Kouyuu broke off, hurt slipping into his gaze momentarily before he banished it away. "-_associated_ with the Kou clan. He thought I should learn at least how to hold a sword." Reishin would have to speak with that boy later. "I thought we'd be doing a couple of drills with a wooden sword, but Shuuei - that bastard - said that assassins rarely attack with wooden ones and that I had to learn how to use a real one."

"And then what?" Reishin asked coolly.

"And then he attacked me!" The disbelief in Kouyuu's voice brings the tiniest of smirks to Reishin's lips. "I barely had a chance to defend myself! I have no idea what I was suppose to learn, I spent most of my time trying to roll away from him in the dirt." Kouyuu pulls a leaf angrily out of his hair. "I'm covered in bruises and I'm never going to be clean again." It's almost like Reishin has stepped into some mirror universe, as Kouyuu rarely ever moans and complains in such a fashion. In fact, that Shuuei is able to bring such a reaction out of Kouyuu is enough for Reishin to decide not to put a hit out on the other boy - at least, not for now.

"If you are expecting sympathy, Kouyuu, you should have found a woman to complain to." Kouyuu bristles at that, but looks suitably chastened. As his son excuses himself to go clean up, Reishin glances down bitterly at the abandoned sword.

Shuuei has opened a Pandora's box that Reishin has kept locked for years.

_v _

He is utterly tired of the heat. It comes in waves, leaving them all behind in sheets of sweat and humidity, stealing away all the freshness in the air. The staff are falling like flies, and it means that moments spent at home like this are rare. Too many evenings have been spent in his office doing other people's work. Kouyuu is hardly happy about the extra workload either, and as his son makes dinner he grumbles darkly about how he is doing the work of five men.

"If they have such weak constitutions that they cannot deal to a small heatwave then they shouldn't have been appointed to the palace in the first place," Kouyuu states as he violently attacks a carrot, slicing it with enough precision that Reishin doesn't fear for his son's fingers although his concern for those who have fallen ill suddenly increases. Reishin doesn't mention that this is hardly a small heatwave or that Kouyuu himself isn't immune, because then Kouyuu might do something silly like realise that his clothes cling more tightly in this weather than usual and do something about it. As it is, Reishin thinks that perhaps he should make Kouyuu come and work with him the next day. His son is slowly wilting beneath the heat and heavy workload himself, and Reishin's gaze narrows as Kouyuu bats tiredly at the sweat-drenched strands that swing in front of his eyes.

"We do have a cook, Kouyuu." His tone is a touch more dismissive than he means it to be, and Kouyuu ends up cutting the next carrot even more violently.

"She went home hours ago. Her daughter has fallen ill." Kouyuu doesn't turn, but Reishin doesn't need him to to know that hurt stains his eyes. "I swear, half the people who are claiming to not be well are just using the heat as an excuse to get out of doing work. And Ryuuki! Ryuuki is the worst of them! It's too hot to work, he moans. Yet, somehow it's not too hot to dress up in the formal gear of the Waba's and sneak around after Shuurei all day!" Reishin smirks in response, but it is a reflexive one with little thought to it. He is focussing more on the way Kouyuu's hand slips from the knife briefly so that he can brace himself against the kitchen bench. "Shuuei's decided that it's only appropriate for him to work at night in this heat, and everyone knows exactly where he works-" When Kouyuu's knees suddenly give out beneath him, Reishin is there, strong arms wrapped around Kouyuu's waist. His son feels heavy in his arms, and Reishin can hear his flighty, far too shallow breaths.

"Exhaustion and heatstroke are not a good combination, you silly boy." His words lack their usual bite, yet Kouyuu somehow manages to shake away his cloudy confusion enough to work up a half hearted scowl as he slowly turns in Reishin's arms to face him. Kouyuu's eyes are dim and unfocussed, and his face has lost all colour beneath the thin sheen of sweat that lingers there. It is more, however, the childish confusion in Kouyuu's gaze that causes Reishin to soothingly brush the hair that has fallen into Kouyuu's eyes away and to gently stroke his thumb along the curve of his son's cheekbone. Kouyuu has been running on pure adrenaline and annoyance for far too long to have seen this coming. "We need to get you to bed." Kouyuu nods, and sways. The horrified look that his son wears the moment he realises that getting to his room on his own is not a feasible option would make Reishin inwardly smirk on any other occasion. As it is, Reishin simply allows Kouyuu to lean on his shoulder as they slowly weave their way around Reishin's furniture until they reach Kouyuu's room. There is an angry blush brushed across Kouyuu's cheeks when they do get there, and Kouyuu can barely get out a mumbled, embarrassed 'thank you' as he collapses onto his bed.

"I will get you some water," Reishin says coolly when Kouyuu says nothing else, his back turned from Reishin. He allows an exasperated breath to escape through his lips as he leaves, his son does not like to show weakness even when the situation warrants it. When he returns, Kouyuu is no longer acting like a child, but only because he is already asleep. Reishin still dips his fingers into the glass of icy water and trails them along Kouyuu's forehead, feeling the heat radiating from his pale skin. When he brushes his damp fingers gently across Kouyuu's lips, they are dryer than he expects them to be and part unconsciously beneath his touch. It is easy then to tip just a touch of water into Kouyuu's mouth, and while Kouyuu coughs slightly, he manages to still swallow it. For a moment, Reishin simply sits on the bed beside his son before, with an aggravated sigh, he leaves for his own room.

And returns with a handful of reports.

It is a long night.


End file.
